Latifah may or may not be gay herself but she’s never let the title define her status as a celebrity or capable talent. During this year’s Grammy Awards, she was vested the power of marriage as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis performed their pro-gay hit “Same Love.” She took pride in the moment, no pun intended, as she relayed to JET, “It was a beautiful moment and not a political decision… I knew it would make a statement and I’m fine with the statement it made.”

In 2012, she was the guest of honor at the LGBT Pride Festival, so she’s definitely no stranger to pinning her personal beliefs on her sleeve.

She says she owes her strength to the adversity she faced in coping with the 1992 death of her brother, who infamously passed away on a motorcycle she gifted him with. “I believed it ruined my life,” she recalls. “I probably had a five-year interruption in any type of personal growth. There were some things I didn’t learn in my twenties because I was disconnected emotionally. I could only get so close or feel so much.”

Readers can catch the full interview when the entire issue hits newsstands on April 21. To see exactly what cover you’re supposed to be looking for, flip it over to the next page.